tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.comments2023-08-01T03:05:39.288-07:00NCCCPhil Fennerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06553929888011931156noreply@blogger.comBlogger93125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.post-9333604762773091842014-12-23T09:37:59.399-08:002014-12-23T09:37:59.399-08:00The NDAA has only a brief mention of the Stehekin ...The NDAA has only a brief mention of the Stehekin road, saying merely that "the Secretary (meaning, in this case, the Interior Secretary, for the Park Service,) "may" adjust the boundary of the Mather Wilderness to construct a road in the Stehekin. Crucially, it does not say "shall." It also does not say "notwithstanding any other provision of law," the usual code words for suspension of NEPA, so presumably there would have to be the normal environmental analysis. As things stand, there is no money for a Stehekin road at a time when there is no money for any number of other roads which are washed out or crumbling in place after place. There is only the provision that the Park Service "may" adjust the Wilderness boundary, when they have no money to build or maintain a road there. Will the Park Service take money away from other struggling units of its system to build a road to nowhere in Stehekin, a road that connects to no other road and which only a handful of vehicles could ever drive on? The more you think about it, the less likely it seems. Stranger things have happened, though. We'll see.<br />Phil Fennerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06553929888011931156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.post-59805888968385679102014-12-22T20:09:35.873-08:002014-12-22T20:09:35.873-08:00This is a very thoughtful, nicely written assessme...This is a very thoughtful, nicely written assessment. I'm glad to hear the Stehekin Road is not a done deal; I repeatedly called and emailed Senators Cantwell and Murray, asking them to oppose that provision, but to no avail. <br /> Aside from the question of funding, would a new upper Stehekin Road require the usual NEPA/public comment process? There's been almost no news coverage of this, so I don't really know exactly what the NDAA specified about the Stehekin Road.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.post-90978965438362933942014-03-12T07:33:50.840-07:002014-03-12T07:33:50.840-07:00Just shows you how deprived my life has been, not ...Just shows you how deprived my life has been, not having done the Ptarmigan Ptraverse myself!! One of these days I just gotta do it - but I think this year I'll wait till we're past avalanche season!Phil Fennerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06553929888011931156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.post-78693601856344033582013-12-03T04:36:44.252-08:002013-12-03T04:36:44.252-08:00This storage place have the best pricing around th...This storage place have the best pricing around the area. (I shopped around a little) and they are the most organized too! Also went in last weekend to pick up boxes and it was pretty busy again.storage in paddingtonhttp://www.storageplus.com.au/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.post-69213090873425800762012-10-11T11:27:52.377-07:002012-10-11T11:27:52.377-07:00Was a really interesting presentation. Rainier Par...Was a really interesting presentation. Rainier Park is a prime test-case of what the N. Cascades are in for as climate warms and glaciers recede. Glacier mass balance on Rainier is closely monitored and the story is not good: 10 years of huge losses, followed by last 2 years modest gains, all of which was more than lost this very summer. Meanwhile the lower part of most of the Rainier glaciers is going stagnant and that's a very bad sign - usually this is followed by very rapid ablation. All of this yields unprecedented debris load for glacial-fed rivers, with riverbeds aggrading (filling with sediment) forcing the river to find new courses across its floodplain, impacting roads build along hitoric channels. The roads become the new riverbeds in flood events following storms. The road to Paradise has 5 or 6 'hot spots' any one of which will potentially take the road out of commission in any one storm. Budgets may not exist to rebuild many very popular roads from the likely recurrent storm events of the future. All the fuss about "access" on existing roads is likely to seem superfluous in the near future.Phil Fennerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06553929888011931156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.post-68882511529419745072012-05-01T18:26:00.190-07:002012-05-01T18:26:00.190-07:00Thanks monorail! Indeed, a great place to visit w...Thanks monorail! Indeed, a great place to visit when the road is "closed".<br />The footage is in a format incompatible with easy youtube. I need to do some research on codex so that I can post them--over the years I've gotten quite a few awesome short movies (some now on DVD). We definitely minimize our exposure (only go when conditions are right, and modulate locations), and camp in a couple of the safest places in the valley.Tom Hammondhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01087828153574207100noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.post-8021361474743332642012-05-01T10:15:35.550-07:002012-05-01T10:15:35.550-07:00Sounds like a magnificent trip. Great photos! Yo...Sounds like a magnificent trip. Great photos! You mentioned that you shot some footage of an avalanche... is that posted online anywhere? I've been wanting to go avalanche-watching myself, but I'm squeamish about crossing volatile slopes.monorailnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.post-62644175983459007652012-04-21T18:09:44.583-07:002012-04-21T18:09:44.583-07:00monorail:
yes, you're right about the MP 13 r...monorail:<br /><br />yes, you're right about the MP 13 re-route. We paced off the closest distance from the re-route spur to the current river bank. It's a little over a hundred feet of flat forested bench. And as you say, the river is migrating north there; in fact if you look at old aerial photos you will note that the road has been relocated at least twice before at that meander bend because the river continued to encroach. So it's reasonable to suppose that the river will keep moving all the way to the base of the hillslope, taking out the re-route. It could all go next winter, or it could be twenty-five years hence. These movements are very episodic. Then they will want to put the road up on the hillside, which will be a lot messier. The only real certainty is the road will wash out again. This is a dynamic floodplain and keeping a road open there is guaranteed to be costly. <br /><br />Regarding the 6-foot trees, no I'm pretty sure they're mid-19th century fire regen. Somewhere between 140 and 170 years old. I have cored a few douglas-firs in the vicinity; the ages always come out about that. Two human lifetimes. On a good site you can grow a pretty nice tree in 150 years. One clue that the trees are not *really* old is their branch structure; crowns are still fairly small and regular, and they have not yet developed the big-irregular branches that one gets in really old trees.<br />If you have ever walked the huckleberry mtn trail, all the nice douglas-fir on the lower half of the route is of the same vintage.<br /><br />There are older trees in the Suiattle--there are some along the road past Downey creek, and there are also older areas on the S side of the river; but there is definitely a whole lot of this 150-175 y/o "young old growth" in the Suiattle basin.kevinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01913834202309096260noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.post-9740140151524105072012-04-21T16:16:03.834-07:002012-04-21T16:16:03.834-07:00I have a question about the rebuild at around MP 1...I have a question about the rebuild at around MP 13. The EA notes that at this point, the river channel is migrating northward at a very rapid rate (11 feet per year; the historic imagery in the EA presents a dramatic picture of this). It seems to me that the new roadway will soon be swallowed up by the river, perhaps within a decade. It also seems to me that it would be difficult or impossible to move the road any further away from the river, because the slope steepens considerably. Unfortunately, the EA does not address this in detail; it only notes that there is a moderate to high probability of future flood damage. It would be a real tragedy if they cut down all that forest and poured all this money into a rebuild, only to see it all permanently washed away (with no hope of rebuilding) a year or two later. Is anyone at NCCC familiar with this particular matter?<br /><br />One more question: the EA notes trees over 6 feet in diameter will be cut. Wouldn't such trees be older than 19th century second-growth?monorailnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.post-702398486264407972012-04-20T08:11:50.030-07:002012-04-20T08:11:50.030-07:00I am an avid hiker and backpacker. Regarding the S...I am an avid hiker and backpacker. Regarding the Suiattle road EA, I support alternative C as opposed to rebuilding the road to its former end, or alternately, closing the road even further back, though I realize this is not going to happen. I am adamantly opposed to rebuilding the last 4 miles of the road, and would much prefer to see that stretch accessible only by non-motorized trail. -Hiker from Omak, WAAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.post-79797497835446903812011-11-26T13:23:28.836-08:002011-11-26T13:23:28.836-08:00Dear Anonymous,
The groups that stands to lose ac...Dear Anonymous,<br /><br />The groups that stands to lose access in the American Alps Legacy Project (AALP) proposal are the resource extraction industries, the timber beast, the miners and the small hydro-power generators. The area proposed for inclusion in the North Cascades National Park are currently unprotected by LAW. See Tom Hammond's Blog. The AALP seeks to preserve these areas in perpetuity for the benefit of generations to come. <br /><br />Ed HendersonAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.post-29468247276188894412011-11-17T20:04:11.187-08:002011-11-17T20:04:11.187-08:00I believe the "Anonymous" missed the poi...I believe the "Anonymous" missed the point altogether in the post by Edwards. The emphasis was on maximally protecting the fauna and flora. Only National Park status does that. The ancillary human impact of park status can and should be controlled.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.post-25533688516263640712011-11-17T16:47:31.702-08:002011-11-17T16:47:31.702-08:00I live in Glacier and support the proposed incorpo...I live in Glacier and support the proposed incorporation of the Nooksack Headwaters into the North Cascade National Park. It would provide a much needed northwest conduit into the park, as well as add important wildlife and habitat protection to this unique low elevation valley.Dannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.post-64055490011679010402011-11-16T22:28:02.402-08:002011-11-16T22:28:02.402-08:00Marc and Phil - If providing and protecting public...Marc and Phil - If providing and protecting public access is truly at the heart of your proposal, who then stands to lose their current or projected future access rights if the areas proposed for expansion remain under management by their CURRENT custodian, and how is it that these historic access rights being threatened today?<br /><br />More to the point, if the proposal is advanced as you have crafted it, which user groups WILL stand to lose their current and historic rights of access to these areas, or find their access burdened with additional permitting and regulation?<br /><br />If you're really going to be objective about this, perhaps sharing both lists side by side will help the general public, the electeds you are lobbying (and even the torch bearing pitchfork weilders) understand your intentions as they relate to accessibility. <br /><br />Let's see about Mr. Hammond's objectivity on this one...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.post-16324457404392047892011-11-15T21:30:20.192-08:002011-11-15T21:30:20.192-08:00We'll look forward to your next post(s) Tom, i...We'll look forward to your next post(s) Tom, including a clear explanation of why your organization and the King County Council are supporting actions to result in a significant increase in visitation to North Cascades National Park as evidenced by Page 39 of your Economic "study", err propoganda piece developed to generate mainstream Republican support in Congress. <br /><br />From Page 39 of the Economic "study::<br />"The annual visitation to the expanded NCNP would rise by about 83,000 over the next<br />20 years if the park can simply maintain its current share of the regional demand for<br />outdoor recreation of the sort the park can readily provide. The increase in NCNP’s<br />share of that market from two to five percent between 2015 and 2030 would increase<br />visitation to about 940,016, almost 2½ times what a continuation of the current share<br />would allow and more than triple the estimated visitation in 2010. See Table 19.40"<br /><br />You recently published, non-scientific report on bio-diversity and the supposed benefits of increased traffic, visitation and economic development in the "gateway" communities you seek to create will also be interesting to objectively review in this context. <br /><br />Maybe you can venture so far as to explain to us pitch-fork weilding torch bearers (and regional biologists and scientists) why credible groups like Conservation Northwest and The Wilderness Society who have spent tens of thousands of dollars studying this eco-system in recent years (grizzly, wolverine and wolves) haven't come out to join the Mountaineers, King County Council, Responsible Republicans and the other economically motivated interests groups you've brought on-board in support of Park expansion as a bio-diversity strategy?<br /><br />Keep up the good work, soon even the average Congressional Staffer will see through the smoke and mirrors on this one. Is it any wonder why there is NO local support from rural communities adjacent to the proposed expansion areas?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.post-78030727966801740312011-11-06T20:46:57.325-08:002011-11-06T20:46:57.325-08:00Shameful of you all to use a quote from someone li...Shameful of you all to use a quote from someone like John out of context to promote increased visitation, use, and activity within the North Cascades eco-system. I seriously doubt he would applaud the joke that the entrance to Denali has become -- let along the intrusive impacts deep within that National Park. <br /><br />And yet that is what your Economic Study claims is a key reason to support expansion of the NCNP! <br /><br />If you really cared about the North Cascades landscape, the critters, and its communities you would recognize that it is o.k. to have a National Park that doesn't boast the same visitation numbers as Rainier or Olympia or Yosemite -- and that there are ample tools to address these supposed "threats" - local land use plans, the NRA plan, and the Forest Plan. <br /><br />Perhaps the reason the North Cascades eco-system is so functional is BECAUSE of the "low" visitation numbers you claim to be such a bad thing. <br /><br />Yet forward you march, chasing egos, completing the "dream" and doing everything possible to build new visitor centers, parking lots, paved trails, and other amusements for lazy aged America. <br /><br />No surprise you were quick to obtain support from the King County Council and the Responsible Republicans...indicators perhaps of the true motivations behind this proposal?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.post-41984611069077439772011-10-27T21:09:14.318-07:002011-10-27T21:09:14.318-07:00Actually, it would be more accurate to have shown ...Actually, it would be more accurate to have shown Smokey the Bear (USFS) as the bouncer keeping the bum from getting inside in the first place as USFS protections and restrictions already minimize such activites. Of course American Alps would want to overstate the risk to benefit their proposal which has more to do with enlarging the egos of those such as Mr. Jackson than truly caring for the landscape of North Cascades National Park. Just check out the Economic Study which promotes a HUGE increase in traffic as the savior for national park communities like Concrete, Marblemount, Mazama and Winthrop. Anyone who has visited Mount Rainier knows that those communities (Elbe, Ashford, Greewater, Enumclaw) are not thriving havens of economic opportunity despite visitation figures that are sky high and in some cases (Paradise) year-round. Cartoons are funny. The Am Alps proposal is downright scary and misleading if you take the time to really understand the goals of those supporting it politically (King County Council, et al.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.post-12729144373579574512011-10-27T16:53:28.279-07:002011-10-27T16:53:28.279-07:00Whoops!
It would have been more accurate of the ca...Whoops!<br />It would have been more accurate of the cartoonist to have the virtuous babe (North Cascades National Park) be depicted instead by Smokey the Bear (the USFS), but AALP guy is dead-on with his special interest lobbyist look.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.post-20961065325924470032011-10-18T10:56:30.759-07:002011-10-18T10:56:30.759-07:00Changes related to Ross Lake NRA are the addition ...Changes related to Ross Lake NRA are the addition of the east bank of Ross Lake up to the Pasayten. Also, from the beginning, we have left out all of the FERC area around the Skagit Hydro Project. This includes the lakes, up to 100 feet above the lake shore lines, the power houses, SCL facilities, and the powerline corridor along Hwy 20, and the NCI Environmental Learning Center.<br />With this change we also added the Nooksack headwaters, expanded the Baker Rainforest area and removed the Methow headwaters, all due to local concerns in those areas.Phil Fennerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06553929888011931156noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.post-81537571222388472302011-10-18T08:43:41.799-07:002011-10-18T08:43:41.799-07:00I'm trying to understand the changes in the la...I'm trying to understand the changes in the latest proposal and how they differ from the prior version. It would appear that Ross Lake is now proposed to be converted from NRA to NPS land. Is that correct?blogger123https://www.blogger.com/profile/01736090718662880645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.post-2232045910282291762011-09-18T23:51:58.674-07:002011-09-18T23:51:58.674-07:00Just one correction; there's no significant le...Just one correction; there's no significant levels of Arsenic in the tailings, or in Railroad Creek below the tailings. The testing performed by the agencies has shown that the Arsenic levels below the tailings are no different than they are above the tailings, and are at a level that indicates leaching from natural formations (which do exist in the Cascade range).<br /><br />The primary pollutant in Railroad Creek below the tailings is dissolved Iron. This is what is causing the cementing of the creek bed, and most of the reduction in aquatic life below the tailings. To put it simply, with the exception of the Iron content, the water downstream from the tailings is within drinking water standards. it is, however, above the limits for aquatic life, and thus the primary reason for the remediation.<br /><br />The thing that we should all be pushing for, however, is the hydro-electric option. Whatever remedial action is taken, it is going to take significant amounts of electrical power to operate the pumping and heating systems. Due to the isolated location, this power will need to be generated on site. Holden's Copper Creek plant often drops to 40kW or less during the winter months, which is barely enough to operate the community. The only viable alternative to hydro power is diesel generators, but given that this plant (and its successors) will need to be operated for the next 100+ years, this is definitely not an environmentally sound path to take. from the prospects of fossil fuels over the next 100+ years, the risk of hauling that fuel up-lake, and then up the Holden road is significant.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.post-17881905358702890512011-09-14T01:32:57.419-07:002011-09-14T01:32:57.419-07:00I've been reading with major interest the arti...I've been reading with major interest the articles you guys have written related to the Holden Mine Remediation. My grandfather was Oscar Getty. He built the cabins below Holden in Lucerne - started as a retreat, sort of, and then it became, basically, a little mining town housing the miners who worked in Holden.<br /><br />My family still retains and maintains those cabins, and so it's been pretty interesting (and not so great) learning about the issues with Railroad Creek. My husband and I are up there as often as we can be and drink the water that comes from Railroad Creek.<br /><br />Thanks so much for what you do.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.post-90492953827010750822011-09-14T01:31:14.379-07:002011-09-14T01:31:14.379-07:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.post-53028795809810322692011-08-31T11:35:34.446-07:002011-08-31T11:35:34.446-07:00I just got back from a five day stay at Holden. So...I just got back from a five day stay at Holden. Sorry to challenge your premise that all Holdenites are selfish and only you and the other high priests of the environment see the true light.<br />I attended a Cleanup Remediation meeting presented by Holden, with the Mine Remediation people present. I can assure you the main topics weren't about Holden down-time but about whether the AlT14 plan as presented could be done for ~$120M. And yes there were concerns that those new "super strict" environmental standards by the EPA to be applied to the Holden Remediation plan will also be applied to Federal dump sites like Hanford and Puget Sound. <br /><br />My take on what was resented was ALT14 appears to be an adequate compromise and that the two years it will take to implement will give the Holden Community some time to upgrade some sorely needed improvements to the facilities. That's assuming the Mining Remediation crews don't tear the place up.<br /><br />Finally, I bet the 37 people at the Seattle Meeting were coming from a position of common sense. Don't be so quick to ignore public comment that doesn't agree with your position.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5149418533455483604.post-89587061942435275772011-08-21T19:18:02.784-07:002011-08-21T19:18:02.784-07:00Thanks for helping on this project.Thanks for helping on this project.Dan McShanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17044037213245602667noreply@blogger.com